LONG MAY IT WAVE: Fort McHenry and the War of 1812 A Na onal Curriculum for Grades 4 through 8 Developed by the Friends of Fort McHenry in collabora on with Fort McHenry Na onal Monument & Historic Shrine and the Star-Spangled Banner Na onal Historic Trail Funding provided by the Na onal Park Service, Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network
LESSON TITLE: Pulley Systems Used at Fort McHenry LESSON WRITER: Kellye Stevens LESSON EDITOR: Jennifer Frieman DATE: May 2011 COURSE/GRADE: Science, Adaptable to Grades 4-8 UNIT: Simple Machines TIME NEEDED: One to two 45-minute class periods LESSON OVERVIEW: Students will perform a demonstra on to explore the science behind the pulley systems used to move cannons and raise the Star-Spangled Banner at Fort McHenry. OBJECTIVES: At the end of this inves ga on students will be able to: Explain how pulley systems helped the soldiers at Fort McHenry Describe the concept of the pulley system Calculate the amount of force needed to move an object with the pulley system Maryland State Curriculum Content Standards for Science (Grade 4): 1.A.1 Gather and ques on data from many different forms of scien fic inves ga ons which include reviewing appropriate print resources, observing what things are like or what is happening somewhere, collec ng specimens for analysis, and doing experiments 1.B.1.a. Develop explana ons using knowledge possessed and evidence from observa ons, reliable print resources, and inves ga ons 2.D.1.a Design and make things with simple tools and a variety of materials. Maryland State Curriculum Content Standards for Math (Grade 4): 6.A.1.a Read, write, and represent whole numbers using symbols, words, and models MATERIALS: For Lesson: o K-W-L Chart o Video Clip o Ac vity Sheet For Ac vity: o Small straw o Large thread spool o Scissors o Ruler o String o Sheets of typing paper o Masking tape o Weights o Pulleys (small and op onal) Less sson on: Pu lley Systems Use sed at For t Mc He nry Fr om Long May It Wa ve: Fort McH chen ry and the War of 181212, A Na onal Curr rric icul um by the Frie iend s of Fort McHenry in collabora on with Fort McHe Henry Na on al Monument & Hi st oric Shr ine an d the St ar -Spa pang ngle d Bann nner Na ona nal Hist oric Trail. Gene rously funded by the Na a ona nal Pa rk Service ce, Ches apea eake Bay Gat atew eways and Wate tert rail ils Ne twork. 1
VOCABULARY: Pulley Simple machine Force PROCEDURE: 1) Warm Up On the board, write the words simple machine and Fort McHenry. Have the students list what they know about Fort McHenry and simple machines anything at all. Then have the students explain why the words might relate to each other. 2) Engagement Have students fill out a K-W-L chart with the teacher using their ideas from the warm up. Tell the students that they will be traveling back in me to the War of 1812. We will be learning about how the soldiers used simple machines to help them move items at Fort McHenry. Briefly relate the history of Fort McHenry: Ft. McHenry was built to help protect Bal more from a ack by enemy forces. During the War of 1812, Bal more a acked by the Bri sh. As the Bri sh tried to sail into the Bal more Harbor, the soldiers at Fort McHenry fired cannons at the ships. Some of these cannons weighed over 1,000 lbs. Ask: How do you think a soldier that weighs 150 lbs moved a 1,000 lb cannon? Con nue the story: Also, on September 15, 1814, a er surviving a 25-hour bombardment by the Bri sh ships, the soldiers at Fort McHenry raised a huge flag (30 X 42 ) above the fort on a tall flag pole. Francis Sco Key, who had watched the ba le from amid the Bri sh fleet, saw the flag, knew that the Fort had not fallen, and was inspired to write The Star- Spangled Banner, the song that is today our Na onal Anthem. The soldiers used a pulley system to raise that flag, which was made of wool bun ng and was very heavy. Tell students that today we will be inves ga ng this pulley system. Show the You Tube video clip of the flag rising at Ft. McHenry. Tell students that this is one way a pulley system helped the soldiers. Video clip found at: h p://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ls StmWeBoCA&feature=related. Explain to students that there is a pulley system at the top of the flagpole. Show a pulley if you have one. Explain that pulleys help reduce the amount of force you need to pull something. Less sson on: Pu lley Systems Use sed at For t Mc He nry Fr om Long May It Wa ve: Fort McH chen ry and the War of 181212, A Na onal Curr rric icul um by the Frie iend s of Fort McHenry in collabora on with Fort McHe Henry Na on al Monument & Hi st oric Shr ine an d the St ar -Spa pang ngle d Bann nner Na ona nal Hist oric Trail. Gene rously funded by the Na a ona nal Pa rk Service ce, Ches apea eake Bay Gat atew eways and Wate tert rail ils Ne twork. 2
3) Explora on Students will then create their own flag pole using the materials and answer ques ons about the ac vity. (See ac vity sheet.) Place students in groups. Depending on your class, you can guide your students through the ac vity or have them do it on their own. 1.Place straw through the hole in the thread spool. The spool must turn easily on the straw. 2. Collect a piece of string and e the ends together. 3. Color the sheet of typing paper to appear like an American flag. 4. Tape the flag to the string. 5. Place the loop of the string over the spool, with the flag hanging at the bo om of the loop. 6. Ask a person in the group to hold the ends of the straw, one in each hand at arm's length over his or her head. 7. Pull down on the string opposite the flag. 8. Observe the distance the string is pulled down and the distance and direc on the flag moves. Students should answer the ques ons on the ac vity sheet. (See A ached) Allow students 25-30 minutes to complete the ac vity. 4) Explana on Review the ac vity sheet as a class. Explain: A pulley reduces the amount of force needed to pull an object. In the ac vity, you made a model of a pulley and inves gated how they used pulleys at Fort McHenry. With a paper flag we did not need a lot of force to pull the flag up, but the Fort McHenry flag was very heavy. Pulleys decrease the amount of force needed to pull by one-half. For example: If I had a 50 lb flag with a pulley to help, I would only need to use 25 lbs of force to raise it up the flag pole. These pulleys also helped the soldiers move thousand-pound cannons. The pulleys alleviate the amount of force the soldiers need to put forth to move the cannon. 5) Enrichment Have the students add weights to the string a ached to the flag. Have students in their groups answer the ques ons. 6) Evalua on: In their journals or as an exit cket, have students answer the following ques ons: o How did the pulley system help at Fort McHenry? Was it easier or more difficult to move things with the pulleys? o If the soldiers at the Fort did not use pulleys, how do you think they could have moved the cannons or the flag? Less sson on: Pu lley Systems Use sed at For t Mc He nry Fr om Long May It Wa ve: Fort McH chen ry and the War of 181212, A Na onal Curr rric icul um by the Frie iend s of Fort McHenry in collabora on with Fort McHe Henry Na on al Monument & Hi st oric Shr ine an d the St ar -Spa pang ngle d Bann nner Na ona nal Hist oric Trail. Gene rously funded by the Na a ona nal Pa rk Service ce, Ches apea eake Bay Gat atew eways and Wate tert rail ils Ne twork. 3
Ac vity Sheet How Did Simple Machines such as Pulleys Help the Soldiers at Ft. McHenry? Name: Group Members: Materials Needed: Small straw Large thread spool Scissors Ruler String Sheets of typing paper Masking tape Weights Se ng up your pulley system: 1. Place straw through the hole in the thread spool. The spool must turn easily on the straw. 2. Collect a piece of string and e the ends together, crea ng a loop. 3. Color the sheet of typing paper to appear like an American flag. (We are going to create a flag with 15 stars and 15 stripes on it. This is like the Star-Spangled Banner flag that was flown over Fort McHenry during the War of 1812.) 4. Tape the flag to the string. 5. Place the loop of the string over the spool, with the flag hanging at the bo om of the loop. 6. Ask a person in the group to hold the ends of the straw, one in each hand at arm's length over his or her head. 7. Pull down on the string opposite the flag. 8. Observe the distance the string is pulled down and the distance and direc on the flag moves. Lesson: Pulley Systems Used at Fort McHenry From Long May It Wave: Fort McHenry and the War of 1812, A Na onal Curriculum by the Friends of Fort McHenry in collabora on with Fort McHenry Na onal Monument & Historic Shrine and the Star-Spangled Banner Na onal Historic Trail. Generously funded by the Na onal Park Service, Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network. 4
Answer the following ques ons based on the simula on you created on a separate sheet of paper: 1. What did you observe when you pulled the string down? What direc on did the flag go? Did you have to pull hard to get the flag to rise? 2. How does the pulley help raise the flag? What would change if you did not have a pulley to help raise the flag? 3. What do the 13 stars on the flag represent? 4. What do you think would happen if you added weight to the flag? How do you think the pulley system would help? Enrichment Ac vity If provided, a ach a weight to the string on the same side that the flag is on. A ach different weights and observe what happens. 1. Weight What did you no ce about the force needed to pull the flag up with the addi onal weight? 2. Weight Is there a difference in the force needed to pull the flag up compared to the other weight? Evalua on Answer these ques ons. 1. How did the pulley system help at Fort McHenry? Was it easier or more difficult to move things with the pulleys. 2. If the soldiers at the Fort did not use pulleys, how do you think they could have moved the cannons or the flag Lesson: Pulley Systems Used at Fort McHenry From Long May It Wave: Fort McHenry and the War of 1812, A Na onal Curriculum by the Friends of Fort McHenry in collabora on with Fort McHenry Na onal Monument & Historic Shrine and the Star-Spangled Banner Na onal Historic Trail. Generously funded by the Na onal Park Service, Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network. 5